Every New Beginning
by VexieChan
Summary: A re-post of this post-Not Fade Away fic. The rewrite is MUCH better. Lemee see: Spike, Angel, End of world, people die, Weird, surreal bit, Doyle, Shanshu, PTB make an appearance, Much Rejoicing. Poets. Yup. That about does it. R&R, if you don't mind.


Every New Beginning

The Esteemed Lady Quotes

Summary: A re-post of a post- Not Fade Away fic I wrote. Here's the basics: Angel, Spike, big battle, people die, there's lots of destiny and weirdness. Ignore the summary. Read the fic.

AN: Just a quick one-shot. I sorta needed it up for Christmas fic I'm writing. Which is another one-shot. But I suddenly realized 'd taken this one down for a re-write, so now I'm throwing it back up here.

A'ight. Enough of me.

Here we go.

The four remaining members of Angel's team went into battle, brave-faced and adrenaline-rushed. As it turned out, Illyria was wrong after all. The fight lasted fifteen long minutes. Many of the demons were slain before Angel's team began to lose strength. Gunn, already wounded, was the first to fall.

He fought with all he had, a vision of Fred in his mind. Enemy after enemy got his knife, but the last one didn't flinch when the cold steel entered its flesh. Instead, it raked out with its claws, ripping into Gunn's own chest. The man who had come to Angel as a boy fell to the demon-littered ground, unable to do anymore. Gunn thought of his sister, of his friends, adopted brothers and sisters, of Angel and his friends by him, and his last thoughts were of Fred . . . and he forgave Wesley. That was nine minutes into battle.

The second to fall was Illyria. This came as a surprise to all, but no one was surprised she went down fighting. The demons had sensed her strength, and an entire group was set aside just for her. She tore through them at an incredible speed, the adrenaline from the previous battle and her grief from Wesley's death taking over. They came and came, their numbers never seeming to decrease as she fought and slew them. Finally overcome, Illyria sank beneath a mountain of demons.

She was glad to return to her grave. She didn't like this world, no matter how much she had learned from it. She thought of Wesley, and wondered if she stood a chance of seeing him in the next world, or if Fred's spirit would be his once more. Illyria realized, as she slowly left the world, that she was glad she had fought on this side. Perhaps the silly, stinking humans were worth fighting for. They had spirit, that was worth saying. She fell twelve minutes into battle.

And then there were two vampires, two who hated each other for so long, now fighting side by side as hard as they could. Angel, happily, was able to slay his dragon without much trouble. He moved on to others, and ended up joining Spike in fighting a two-headed demon over eight feet tall. Unfortunately, the two were so intent on destroying the two-headed demon, they were overtaken from behind.

"So, it's come to this. We're all gonna die and good ol' LA is gonna be taken over by demons. We did good." Spike said, as the demons took them back to the epicenter. Angel shook his head.

"No, Spike. We did do well. This is what we were meant for. I don't care that we lost, we fought our hardest. Some good was done today." he replied. Spike nodded.

"And we won't be around to see the world taken over by demons of the not-so-nice variety." he said.

"That too." Angel agreed. As much as he wanted the world safe and sound, he'd done all he could, there was nothing left to do now but accept it. And he really didn't want to watch the world end.

"Yeah. Well, I just want to thank you for one very entertaining ride, Angelus-mate." Spike said, more seriously. Angel shot him a grin.

"I could say the same, but I'm physically incapable of thanking you. But, I will say it's been fun." He agreed. "You were a good fledgling." Spike could have taken this as an insult, but knowing Angel, he thought better of it. That was what he got for a compliment. And the fact that Angel complimented him at all meant a lot to the vampire.

"You sucked as a sire, but I turned out all right, didn't I?" He replied. They exchanged a look, a look that said more than they had ever said to each other in their hundred years of knowing each other. Then they faced their fate, side by side, in a renewed friendship.

"You defied Wolfram & Hart, Angel. That was not very smart." The creepy little girl from the White Room was back, but she was out of her room. Angel was aghast. Spike, on the other hand nearly choked. That little girl was very, very familiar. And it had just hit him who she was.

"Miss Edith!" He cried. The little girl smiled.

"Very good, Spike. I was always with your Drusilla because she sold her life to us. She said she'd rather have Angelus kill her than to continue torturing people she cared about. That worked in our favor." She said. Spike looked hurt.

"Dru was on your side the whole time?" He said. " She never told me. That's not fair." Miss Edith laughed.

"I told her not to, William. But don't worry. I had nothing to do with _you_." She said. "But it all worked out in the end, didn't it?" Spike glared at her.

"Bloody brilliant." He said sarcastically.

"You had control of me from the beginning." Angel realized. Miss Edith nodded.

"Oh, yes. The Master was a valuable client. We were quite interested when he informed us of his precious Darla and her creation. She was magnificent, but you, Angelus, were a dream. When the girl with visions appeared, we led you through Darla straight to her, then put her on our side. Darla, of course, never knew about us. Her beloved Master was her source." she explained.

"No . . ." Angel looked down. Spike cast a concerned glance at him.

"So, um. Just out of curiosity, what else have you meddled in?" He wanted to know. Miss Edith smiled, coming over to put a hand on his face.

"I always liked you, Spike. You were fun, and so obedient. And so blind. I led Angel to his soul. I led you both to Sunnydale, you, Spike, through Drusilla, and you, Angel, through the deception of a rebel client. Little Whistler wanted to do good. We nudged him in the right direction. Heard from him lately? Oh, no, wait. We killed him." Miss Edith laughed. Angel and Spike were shocked and dumbfounded. Everything in Sunnydale was a plot? Buffy was a plot? This was the phrase that went through both of their minds.

"Yes, Buffy was my doing. I made sure your paths would cross. I had to bring the two of you together. I had hoped Spike would help Angelus once he was reborn, to come to us and help us regain our world. We never thought you, Spike, would fall in love with the idiot Slayer." Miss Edith spat. "But that all worked out. That hellmouth had been getting out of hand anyway. And that was the perfect incentive to bring you here."

"I thought Lindsey brought me here . . ." Spike said, frowning.

"He did. We knew about it. Don't you see? There's nothing we don't know about." Miss Edith said. "The people who could help you, the witch, Willow, we planned her trip into the astral planes. The Slayer, Buffy, our friend the Immortal was more than willing to woo her. The girl, Cordelia, we made sure she would be dead by now."

"You killed Cordelia." Angel accused.

"Of course we did! We couldn't let her live. We took her, planted her with Jasmine, and made sure the once-goddess would kill her. You did the rest." Miss Edith smirked.

"And all for this. I kill you. I win. I get my world back. And from there? No more stupid, sniveling humans messing up my schemes with their stupid, stinking souls. No more anything. Just me and my demons. Those loyal to me." She said. "And now our time has come to an end. Good-bye, Angel, good-bye, Spike. It was fun playing with you." Miss Edith produced two stakes and walked up to the vampires, looking at them with her big, innocent-looking eyes.

"No!" Spike yelled. But the stake was plunged into his heart, as well as Angel's. The dust of the final alliance against Wolfram & Hart floated to the ground.

Miss Edith turned to her demons.

"Very good. Now–." The earth began to quake. A white light filled the room. The little girl screamed an unearthly scream, and split into three tall, shadowy men. In the place of a head, each had the face of an animal, a Wolf, a Ram, and a Hart. Before them, seven figures appeared. They had no shape, no form. Each had a color, however, though those colors mostly have no name. The only one with an earthly color was the center-most. It's color was a black and white, swirling and mixing.

"This is unacceptable." the black and white figure said, with no voice, no words. But it was understood. The three figures held out their hands.

"You gave us this world." the wolf said.

"You said it would be ours to rule someday." The ram continued.

"And all the demons on it." The hart finished.

"No. You broke our agreement. You promised you would keep the balance, yet you did not. You favored darkness, and thus let the world slip. And when we tried to restore the balance and placed humans upon the world, you defied us and tried to overrun our power." The figure replied.

"The humans are dirty." The wolf growled.

"They destroy the world on their own." The ram added.

"Why should we keep them?" The hart asked in disgust.

"They are our creations. It is not your place to decide whether they should live or die. That is our choice, and ours alone. We have let you have too much power and have been much too lenient with your abuse of that power. It is time that we fix this problem." the figure said in a somewhat angry tone.

"You cannot take away our power!" the wolf said, clearly aghast.

"You promised we would rule." The ram reminded it.

"We had an agreement." the hart pointed out.

"Our agreement has been destroyed. Your time is over. My champions did their duty. They gave themselves so we could come. We do not break our own rules. And it is time for us to make a new one. The Wolf, The Ram, and the Hart never again will set foot on this Earth, in any form. From this day forward, you are thus trapped in a dimension of our own creation." The figure said.

"What?" the wolf cried.

"No!" the ram shrieked.

"You promised!" The hart added fearfully.

"You have no power, Wolf, Ram, and Hart. Your end of our bargain was not held up. You are finished." The figure commanded. "Be gone!" The three disappeared in shrieking agony. All of their followers burst into flame, and perished on the spot. The seven figures seemed to look at each other.

"Come, brothers. There is another matter to be settled." the One said. "Another promise was made to our most loyal followers, and that promise must be kept." They disappeared.

Spike and Angel appeared in a room much like Angel's office. They looked around, then at each other.

"Where are we? 'Cos last thing I remember, we were being turned to dust by Dru's favorite toy." Spike said uneasily, making a face. Angel shrugged.

"Who knows. I'm more interested in the question of Did we win?" He replied. Spike sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Wish I knew." He said.

"Wish granted. You won, Champ." A familiar Irish-accented voice said from behind them. Angel whirled around.

"Doyle!" He cried happily. Doyle grinned.

"Hello, Angel." He said. "Congratulations." Angel smiled.

"It's good to see you." he said truthfully. Spike smirked, crossing his arms across his chest.

"So you're the real Doyle. Nice to finally meet you." He said. Doyle raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, we met. You just don't remember. You tried to kill me." He said, grinning at Spike's astonished look.

"That _was_ you, wasn't it?" he said in surprise. Doyle nodded.

"Yeah." he said. "Anyway. I'm supposed to give one of you a great reward, and then I get to escort the other to the Realm of Champions."

"Which one of us goes where?" Angel asked. Doyle shrugged.

"I don't know." he said. "Truthfully, there weren't supposed to be two of you. You've got to decide which of you gets a second chance, and which of you gets to go straight to eternal peace." Angel looked at Spike. Spike looked back.

"Angel should have it." Spike said, finally. "Angel, you've been fighting for this for a long time. It's what you've been working for this entire time. You deserve it." Angel shook his head.

"No, this is for you." he replied. "I was cursed. You beat me. You wanted it more. You did it out of love. I did it because I had to."

"Look, I never wanted it. I just wanted to prove myself. This was always your prize. I just helped with the dirty work, as usual." Spike replied. "I'm just the sidekick. The very well-dressed sidekick." Angel looked at Spike.

"That means a lot, Spike, that you would give that up for me. But the truth is, I have nothing to go back for. Gunn, Fred, Cordelia, Wesley, Doyle," Angel smiled at the half demon, who was watching with interest, "They're all here. Dead. I have no one to go back to."

"What about wolf-girl? And Connor. What about them?" Spike asked. He paused. "And what about Buffy?" This was added quietly. Again, Angel was touched.

"Spike, no. Buffy is of the past. Nina has her own life to live, and Connor . . . well, he has a new life. I love him, but I would always be on the sidelines. I gave him up. You were close to Dawn, Willow, Probably even Xander, though he'd never admit it. You have friends, probably some I don't even know about." Angel said sadly. "You have life in you. I've been dead a long time." Spike, for the first time in a long time, blinked back tears. This meant more to him than anything.

"Angel . . ." But there was no more argument.

"I want to see my own friends. To be with them." Angel replied softly. Spike nodded.

"I'll catch up with you." Spike said. "Good luck." Angel smiled.

"Good luck to you, Spike. I'll see you in a hundred years or so." he replied. Spike grinned, and the two embraced. This was something neither had done before. It was sort of odd, but it symbolized that peace had finally been won.

"Take care of yourself. And . . . tell her I said hello." Angel whispered.

"Thank you." Spike whispered in reply. They stepped back. Doyle cleared his throat.

"Ah, right. So. Good luck, Spike, and Angel? You're comin' with me." He said. Angel walked over to Doyle.

"I'm with you, friend." He said. "Good bye, Blondie Bear." Spike laughed.

"See you around, Peaches." He said. "Hey! Powers! Drop me off around Rome, will you? I've got to see about a girl!" Angel laughed.

Doyle took his arm, and they walked through a door. They were suddenly in the middle of a gleaming field. A picnic was spread among the flowers. Angel blinked as the overly bright sunlight filled the area, making him feel warm. He smiled. His friends were scattered across the blanket.

Fred and Wesley were in each other's arms. Illyria, in her true and radiant form, shook her head at them, smiling peacefully. Gunn was talking to Cordelia. Everyone was dressed in light garments in a style Angel had never seen before. He suddenly realized he was in one too. He looked at Doyle, who smiled.

"Come on. We're missing your party." He said. As they walked over, everyone looked up. They all rushed over to greet Angel, and there were many embraces and tears of joy. Angel looked through the crowd to see Darla. His friends parted to let her through.

"Darla . . ." Angel breathed in amazement.

"Angel. Because of what you and I created, I made it. They were grateful for my own sacrifice." She said. "Thank you." They embraced, and Angel found the love he had sought for, and slaughtered many towns for in the past.

"Come on!" Fred squealed in her happy way. "Let's party!" She took Illyria's arm, and they led the group back to the picnic.

"Forget being human." Angel said to Cordelia and Doyle, his first companions in the fight for good on his own. "This is much better than any normal life could ever be."

Meanwhile on Earth, Spike had his mind set to show his new prize to Buffy, and finally win her heart. He marched confidently into the bar and sought her out. She was sitting at a table. Spike grinned and strode over to her. He leaned down and grinned at her.

"Can I buy you a drink, love?" He asked suavely. Buffy gasped.

"Spike!" She cried. "I thought you were dead!" Spike laughed.

"No, I'm not. Actually, I'm human but–." Spike stopped dead. Why was that so easy to say? It was going to be hard to tell her. But it really wasn't. It was simple. And suddenly, it hit him.

"Spike." Buffy stood up and put her arms around him. Spike stood there in shock. This was his reward. But he found he didn't care. He pushed Buffy away, right as she was going to kiss him. She gave him a puzzled look.

"What's wrong?" She asked. Spike looked at her for a long time, and then his face broke out in a grin as he realized something.

"It's not about you anymore. I get that now." He said happily.

"What?" She asked, frowning at him.

"Buffy, I came in here tonight to show you that I finally won everything for you." Spike began. "But I realized, I've been given a second chance, for a real life. The life I was supposed to have before Drusilla turned me. And I just realized I can't ever get that with you. I can't just go back to the danger I lived in before. I can't give you the vampire you fell in love with. And actually, that's all right with me." Buffy just stared at him. Spike touched her face and smiled.

"Angel says hello. I was supposed to tell you. He's in heaven. We'll get there. But for now, I'm gonna enjoy life. Look, I'll see you around. We can get coffee, maybe talk over old times. I want to see Lil' Bit and Red and all them again, anyway. But right now, I just want to live." Spike said, turning away. Buffy caught his arm. He noticed she had that disbelieving, not-quite ticked look that she always used to have.

"Wait." She said. "You just show up, tell me you're alive, and then leave?" Spike smiled.

"Yeah. I think I do. See, once I told you that you belonged in the dark, with me. Thing is, I'm not in the dark anymore. I'm free to go in the sunlight anytime I want. Good luck with that Immortal bloke, by the way. I'm told he's great." Spike left Buffy looking dumbfounded. He laughed to himself for a moment, then he scanned the bar again. A young woman with raven-black hair and a pair of delicate silver glasses sat in a corner. Spike smiled and walked over to her.

"Hello there. What is such a pretty girl like yourself doing in the shadows?" he asked softly. The girl jumped and looked up from what she was writing on a notepad. She promptly covered up the notebook with her long, slender hand.

"Oh! I wanted a night out and all, but I'm not one for crowds. I shouldn't be here." she said quickly. Spike smiled and slid in the seat across from her. She stared at him.

"No, you're fine. What are you writing?" he wanted to know. A faint blush crept into the girl's cheeks.

"I, um, I write poetry." She said, the last word dropping to a whisper. Spike's face lit up.

"Let's hear it!" Spike said, leaning in to see what she had written. The girl looked up in surprise.

"You really want to hear what I wrote?" She asked hopefully. Spike nodded seriously.

"I'm a poetry writer myself. Our art is highly underestimated." he remarked. The girl smiled.

"Yes! Exactly! My name is Katrina." She said. Spike smiled.

"Hello, Katrina. My name is William." He replied. And he meant it.

So there you go. My tale is told, from start to end. The only person left un-accounted for is me, the lonely guy sitting up here on a lonely stage, telling the world what the people he hoped had been his friends did. The cowardly guy who didn't show up in the end to join the heroes in their battle.

I'm just the guy left behind to tell the story, because I never really had a place in it anyway. And now it's ended.

So do what you can, enjoy what you have, because you never know when the truth will come out, and you'll lose it all. Then you'll just be a lonely green demon sitting in a nightclub telling everyone what you could have done. Don't let that happen, kids.

Good luck. I mean that, too. Because my friends made your lives a lot easier.

Don't be sad, because every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.

Good night.

THE ABSOLUTE END

AN: it turns out I'm not gonna need this after all. I forgot about that ending, and I really, really like the ending, but it won't fit with what I'm gonna do. Oh well. I've been meaning to re-write this anyway.

As one of my favorite authors once said, "Review or I shall poke you with this large stick!" Actually, his had something to do with strawberries, but I'm saying REVIEW OR I SHALL POKE YOU WITH THIS LARGE STICK.

Later. :D


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